


I'll Lift my Face and Run to the Sunrise

by asianlychallengedasian



Category: Soul Eater
Genre: Angst, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Blood, Broken Bones, Burns, Canon - Anime, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Lacerations, Pain, Post canon, Surgery, Weapon!Maka, Whump, graphic depictions of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24823900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asianlychallengedasian/pseuds/asianlychallengedasian
Summary: Then her wavelength disappears, like a drop of water into a lake. She swoons, falling from her upright pedestal. She still falls- not jumps, no- with grace. If Soul were anyone else, he might’ve thought she simply leapt off to return to the safety of her friends. But, Soul isn’t anyone else, he’s Maka’s weapon, and he had never felt her wavelength crash like that. Even when asleep, her soul rang like a bell, alerting everyone of its presence. However, in this droplet of time, it’s silent.It’s almost like she’s dead.
Relationships: Maka Albarn & Soul Eater Evans
Comments: 1
Kudos: 47





	I'll Lift my Face and Run to the Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to write smth about the aftermath of the battle in the anime canon; i havent gotten the chance to read the manga yet because I wanted to buy them instead of reading them online... Prolly'll cave later. 
> 
> Also, this is mostly just hurt, with a hint of comfort at the end; i wrote this for the [ Bad Things Happen ](https://badthingshappenbingo.tumblr.com/) bingo! Prompt: Personal Effect Reveal.

The sky is blue, after so many days of a deep crimson red. It’s jarring, almost; Soul could barely think of a time when the sky was blue before, although it had been mere days since he last saw the blue sheen of the atmosphere. 

The world felt like it had ended. Now, carefully, as if to protect the rest of its inhabitants, it pulls itself off its haunches to begin once more. His fallen friends follow suit, slowly standing to join the living world again. Soul, after a few more moments of contemplation, brushes himself off, and stands with an air of confidence.

He sees Maka, atop of a pillar, standing singularly, triumphantly. She stands like a proud statue of Athena, intelligent and strong. He gives her a toothy smile, before turning to the rest of their friends. Each of them looked worse for wear, but they all had smiles of victory plastered upon their face. 

Black★Star and Death the Kid stand with help of their respective weapons, speaking a language that Soul can’t much speak nor understand at the moment. He simply draws in the aura of his friends, helping him to return to his own senses. Slowly, all their eyes turn to Maka, Soul slowly following suit. She still stands on her pedestal, and she must be speaking, because her mouth is moving, though Soul only hears noise in his head.

But something shakes him to his core. Something’s wrong, no, everything’s wrong. Maka’s wavelength, normally strong, beats weakly against her lifeblood. He feels her fear, her weariness… Her  _ pain. _

Then her wavelength disappears, like a drop of water into a lake. She swoons, falling from her upright pedestal. She still falls- not jumps, no- with grace. If Soul were anyone else, he might’ve thought she simply leapt off to return to the safety of her friends. But, Soul isn’t anyone else, he’s Maka’s weapon, and he had never felt her wavelength crash like that. Even when asleep, her soul rang like a bell, alerting everyone of its presence. However, in this droplet of time, it’s silent. 

It’s almost like she’s dead.

Soul only credits the split second’s warning and his quick reflexes to catching Maka before she hit the ruins of Baby Yaga Castle. Even still, he can hardly call it catching, he only slowed her descent before she hit the ground with a loud  _ crack. _ Soul’s hand screams in pain, so he isn’t quite sure if the crack is from her or him, but regardless.

Her eyes are shut, and if Soul ignored the black blood staining her face, he might think she was sleeping. That is, if he  _ also  _ ignored the bruises and scrapes littering her paler than normal skin, and the actual blood and tears drying on her face. Soul searches, frantically, for something, anything to prove she was alive, because if she’s breathing, it’s much too shallow for him to feel. 

Finally, after what felt like an entire lifetime, he feels the sporadic heartbeat underneath his fingers, pressed deep into the side of her throat. He hears- no, more  _ feels  _ a rumble of a low, pained moan seeping from the depths of her vocal cords. Soul feels ashamed that he’s almost relieved she’s in pain- she’s still cognizant, at the very least. He doesn’t notice his teammates gathering beside him. He only can only see Maka.

When he sees a hand reach into his view, he immediately covers her prone body, and his arm sharpens into a scythe. It isn’t made much better by the fact the one who reaches out is Professor Stein’s, who until a few hours ago, had been incapacitated and working with the enemy. He fights back when someone reaches around his stomach, pulling him away from Maka. 

“Stay away from her!” His unseeing eyes never move from her splayed body. He had to protect her, she is in  _ danger.  _ She is dying, right in front of his eyes, and if she takes one more hit, she will die, and he can’t allow that-

“Soul!” Something- Someone cries, covering his vision of her prone body, and he jerks against the death grip around his waist. A repeated call of his name didn’t calm him. He frantically pushes against the grip, and then-

He’s being carried, bridal style. Blue hair edges his vision alongside the spots.

He feels the rush of air gliding by his face.

Finally, he hears voices ringing around him. He sits up, disoriented, black spots filling his vision, the world blurring around him. He can only hear static, and the world’s too bright for him to even consider seeing.

_ Maka,  _ he thinks.  _ I need to get to Maka. _ But it would help if he could move without the dots clouding his vision, thank you. It would help if there wasn’t a firm hand grabbing onto his aching shoulder. 

The world splits like shattered glass, and he remembers why he needs to get to Maka. She’s hurt, he can’t feel her wavelength, and is she dead?

“Soul.” A calm voice rings, and his head whips around, his glare sharper than a knife’s edge. He sees three lines filling half of his vision, white like fallen snow on asphalt. “Soul, are you with us?” The young reaper says firmly, yet kindly.

It’s then when Soul’s vision opens back up, and he sees the pale yellow walls of the dispensary, clashing with the white curtains hung up for privacy. The window shines bright light in on them, and the sky is once again blue: and it achingly reminds Soul why they’re here, so he ignores it for the company sitting around him.

Black★Star sits on the bed across from him, as do Liz and Patty, their wounds treated for the most part. Behind and beside him, however, sit Kid and Tsubaki, looking onto him with worried eyes. The two- three, including himself, if the throbbing of his hand was any indicator that he hadn’t been treated yet- didn’t appear to be treated yet, scrapes and blood abound clearly on their faces. Though the black didn’t show it, Soul could see the dark, inhuman blood seeping through the white parts of Kid’s suit. Tsubaki looked somewhat better, but still not in great condition.

Soul doesn’t see Maka anywhere. She’s gone, she’s not there. Soul looks about, trying to keep his cool. But it seems that Kid has an idea where his mind has gone.

“Stein took Maka to a separate room. He is operating on her now,” The child of Death says, “Nygus has been caring for us. She just departed to check on how the surgery’s going.”

Soul gulps. “Why surgery?” He says, slowly, as if to try to keep his innards from flipping outward. He takes a deep breath. In, out. The throbbing pain returns to his hand, adrenaline fading.

“They were quite hushed talking about it, but I heard them speaking of a ruptured spleen,” Kid says, “Alongside several broken bones.” He keeps a steady voice. Soul doesn’t know how. “Asura has been defeated,” Kid mumbles lowly, “But at what cost?” Soul can’t help but agree.

“Will she be okay?” Soul asks.

“She’ll be fine,” A different, feminine voice says sweetly from beyond the curtain. The woman wrapped in bandages appears from the other side. He can’t see her mouth, but her tone lends itself to a cheerful one. “Professor Stein finished surgery a few minutes ago.” Nygus reports, but none of the young weapons nor meisters relaxed. Her eyes hold a haunted look behind them.

“You need not spare us from the truth.” Kid says, with a world weary look that no teenager should have in their eyes. Nygus remains reticent for another few moments, before Black★Star speaks up.

“A god always cares for his followers,” He says in his usual haughty tone, but there is concern hidden behind his facade. “A star such as myself doesn’t need sugar coating! Give it to us straight, Nygus.” He reasons to the older woman. After a staring contest with the motley crew of teens, she looks away.

“I wasn’t lying,” She appeals to their better nature, approaching Kid to treat his wounds. “She’s stable, and she’ll make it unless something ends up getting infected.” She gestures for Kid to remove his shirt.

“But the way you’re saying it makes it appear you are holding something back,” He says, slipping off his overcoat, revealing torn and shredded skin underneath. Dried blood, nearly black stains his already pale torso, alongside bruises and burns from things unknown. Soul pulls his eyes away, trying not to think of a certain ashy blonde in the room over.

Nygus pauses, reaching for the salve and bandages on the rolling cart. “You’re right,” She says, reluctantly. “However, it’s hard to explain, especially without context of what happened within the battle. The injuries all of you bear paint a horrid picture.” She says softly, applying the salve to the burns and the worst of the bruises. Soul thinks he hears a hiss of air escape from between Kid’s teeth.

“We don’t even know,” Tsubaki admits quietly. She rubs a sore spot on her arm.

“All of us were unconscious until Maka had him on the ropes,” Liz says, leaning on her little sister. “We all thought she was fine until she collapsed.”

“Yeah, she was standing up on that pedestal! What were we supposed to think?” Patty says in defense of the six teens within the room. “Soul noticed first that something was off, though,” Patty points out in her cheerful tone. All eyes turn to the white headed teen, who looks off into the curtain, like it was something interesting to look at.

He remains silent for a moment. “I could feel her wavelength,” He says, trying to keep an even head. “It was imbalanced from the moment I felt it, like it was puttering out, and…” Soul doesn’t say the word that comes to mind first. “I could feel her pain, before she fell unconscious.” Soul says.

Nygus slowly nods, seemingly piecing things together. “It only makes sense, with the bond you and her share,” She says gently, placatingly. She falls silent as she finishes tending to Kid’s wounds, wrapping gauze around the puncture wounds, already healing together. 

Finally, after a long, pregnant pause, she speaks again. Kid’s putting on a loose shirt, one that won’t agitate his wounds, as Nygus tosses the soiled dress shirt into the trash. “It seems her abdominal region sustained serious damage.” She reports, facing away from them “The surgery was to stop the internal bleeding going on, but her body-” She wavers, “It reacted oddly,” She turns toward them. “Stein nearly got sliced to pieces.” Slowly, she turns to Soul.

“Soul Eater, has Maka Albarn ever displayed traits of being a weapon to you?”

/////

Maka’s pain is what wakes her up. She aches all over, her stomach feels like it’s been torn into ribbons, and her throat is sandpaper. She shifts uncomfortably, her throat trying to make a noise to prove her discomfort. However, it lights her throat aflame, and she feels tears edging at the corner of her eyes.

“I see you’re up.” Professor Stein’s tenor voice rings calmly. 

She struggles to open her eyes, crusted over with crud and dried tears. Her head spins achingly, and the fire in her stomach refuses to die down. When her eyes open, as a matter of fact, it’s so bright, and so painful, that anything in her body decides to spill out like a rocky waterfall. Her body twists so she doesn’t choke on her vomit, but she feels her stomach tug unnaturally, alongside a horrible pain shooting up her central nervous system. 

If the situation isn’t miserable enough as it is, the pain causes her to choke despite her best efforts, and there’s vomit and drool everywhere, and definitely tears as she coughs up whatever is blocking her airways. She sobs out as air returns to her lungs, tears flowing freely down her face. It’s worse than any pain she had ever felt personally before, she feels like she’s definitely dying, someone take her Will-

Maka distantly feels a hand on her back, slowly rubbing circles into her shoulder. Something- something to focus on, other than the pain. She grips onto the feeling with all of her might, the hand is rough, yet smooth, she can’t quite tell through the plastic of the hospital gown she’s wearing. She feels staples in the hand rubbing her back, and hears a quiet voice whispering something into her ear. She doesn’t understand, but she’s tired. So tired. The pain is still there, but the voice is too, and the hand, and she slumps over. 

Everything ceases once more.

///

Soul doesn’t have a response for that. He just stares, like she spoke in a different language. “...Excuse me?” He asks her to repeat.

Nygus only rubs her face. “From that response, I suppose there hasn’t been,” She takes it as proof. The rest of the children in the room look on, confused. Nygus continues. “During surgery, a demon weapon emerged from her body. It looked to be either a sickle or a scythe,” She says. “It seemed like it may have came out reflexibly as a defense mechanism, but the level of control her body had on the weapon was…” She contemplates her words. “Abnormal for a normal demon weapon.”

“Could it have something to do with the fact that her father is a Death Scythe?” Death the Kid says slowly, not incredulous by the concept. The rest do not react so calmly- in fact, a clamor settles over the room. Murmurs of confusion, shock, and disbelief fill the room, filling the air to bursting with unease. Nygus’s voice is the thing that breaks over the ocean of curiosity, catching all of their attention.

“That could be it, Kid,” She says, “But there’s no preface. Not many Death Weapons get the opportunity to… Settle down,” She doesn’t need to explain further. The room gets the implications of the statement. “We’ll have to wait for Maka to wake up to inquire further.”

The room is quiet, until Soul speaks up. “Does this mean she’s going to have to train as a weapon, now?” He asks.  _ Does this mean she won’t be my meister anymore?  _ Something in his chest tears and thumps oddly at the thought. To Soul’s relief, Nygus shakes her head.

“The response looks involuntary. She might need to take classes to learn to control it, but she’s much more proficient as a meister. Unless she wants otherwise, she’ll remain a meister.” She begins to prod at Soul, rolling up his ruined sleeve. He winces, but his hand isn’t searing with pain as she turns it over. 

Nygus grabs some compression wrapping, wrapping his wrist. “Aside from the discovery, the surgery appears to have gone well. She broke a few ribs as well, as well as her collarbone, and appeared to have sustained a concussion and some burns to her chest. But, all things considered, it could’ve been worse.” She finishes wrapping Soul’s wrist, and walks away to grab a bag of ice.

_ Could’ve been worse, _ Soul’s mind rings bitterly. Some broken bones and burns, but all things considered,  _ it could’ve been worse. _ They’re- they may be considered adults, here in Death City, but they’re only fourteen. Hell, Maka hadn’t even turned fourteen yet. They’re kids, yet they’re going through grievous injuries in which they could die easily. Soul absentmindedly rubs his chest.

Back home, before he had discovered his weapon heritage, not even his parents dared to lay a hand on him nor his brother. The worst injury he had ever had was a carpet burn from sliding across the living room. Of course, to them, the brothers were merchandise, goods to be served to the public, then dusted and put away for another time. But now, nearly every other day is a fight for their lives.

Not that Soul would trade it for the world, though. He found a place to belong, where he didn’t feel like a toy, where he didn’t feel inferior to everyone. But, Maka’s in a hospital bed, injured, because he couldn’t protect her enough. So now, they were both hurt, and Soul feels… inadequate once more. But it was the fault of the world, the fault of witches and gods, not simply the fault of his own dearths.

Because  _ it could’ve been worse.  _ But if he was stronger, maybe it could’ve been better.

Tsubaki nudges him gently, and he comes back to reality. It’s only the two of them in the room. She has a small smile on her face. “The rest have left to go back home,” She says with a quiet air among her. “Are you going to stay here with Maka?” She asks. 

Soul nods slowly, dazedly. “They’re letting visitors?” He double checks. Tsubaki grabs the back of her elbow in a nervous habit. 

“Stein said family members are allowed to see her.” She explains, then turns away, and lifts her arm in an imitation of a wave. “Talk to us later, tell us how she’s doing.” And with that, Tsubaki left.

Soul’s chest felt warm. He slowly stands, and exits behind Tsubaki, to go one room over to where _ his _ meister, _ his _ Maka laid, unconscious. The slow rise and fall of her chest and the beep of the monitor are the only things convincing him she’s still alive- and it’s still jarring to see Maka in such a state. Maka is always moving; be it with her leg jumping up and down in her seat in class, or clicking her pen in her room as she studies or reads a book. Soul doesn’t notice his legs carrying him over to her bedside, nor does he notice as he nearly collapses into the chair next to the bed. His eyes never move off of the pallid girl who laid in front of him.

Soul rubs his chest, though he’s only able to feel the bandages wrapped loosely around his torso and back. Maka has similar bandages wrapping around her, he discovers, but the bandages wrap up around her neck and down her arms. Her arm is in a sling, but Soul distantly recalls from his medical first aid class that it was likely for restraining movement of her collarbone. Red, irritated patches of skin adorn her body. Despite all of the horrid injuries, Maka seems to be sleeping peacefully, though he can probably only thank the IV sticking out of her arm.

He pushes the heels of his hands into his eye sockets, holding back the burning feeling in them. He could’ve stopped this. He could have protected her more. He should have, and maybe she would be awake right now- sure, he might’ve been in the hospital bed instead of her. But seeing her this hurt, this close to death, fills him with regret and fear. It  _ should’ve  _ been him in this bed. The weapon protects the meister, and he would die for even the slightest chance of her being okay. But instead, she lays dormant within her mind, and he sits here, waiting for her cognizance to return. It’s a bitter turn of fate, and it leaves an acidic taste in his mouth.

He covers his ears, the off tune beeping only reminding him of his own failures as the white-haired boy cries for the first time in a long time.

///

Maka’s mouth feels like a desert at best, and she swears she has to be in some sort of sensory deprivation tank. Her body doesn’t feel real. She’s sure if she moved one inch- if she could- her body would turn to mush and her spirit would roam free. Her eyelids feel heavy, heavier than a ten ton building crushing her. She breathes like a fish out of water, or that’s at least what it feels like. Slowly, the building crushing her lifts, and she feels bedsheets around her. She’s exhausted, but the feeling of the world comes back to her in spurts of bodily awareness. Her mind is anchored back to her body, and she slowly wrenches her eyes open.

The ceiling tiles are white. It’s burning her eyes, so she shuts them with a hiss. Her staticky mind registers the beeping before she does the voice calling next to her. It’s familiar, like home.

Soul. His low baritone rings like a warm fire in her ears. The sound above the obtrusive beeping relaxes her until it stops. Her mind wishes for it back; she pulls her eyes back open to find the weapon. Her head turns to the side that he was standing at, but she can hear her bones creaking and squeaking as pain overwhelms her shoulder.

And it’s then when everything strikes her like a punch, like a wave crashing over her. Her mouth gets drier if it’s even possible, and she tries to pull herself to a sitting position.  _ Bad idea, _ her body screams as she feels pain from where she didn’t know she could feel pain. 

“Not a good idea,” A certain man with a screw in his head speaks. Maka would speak if her voice could offer anything other than a hoarse whimper. She glares in his direction, trying to send her sentiments through her mind. Stein grins, before turning to someone behind him. “You were right,” He says to them, “Let me check on her. If her glare is anything, I think she’s actually awake this time.”

Maka hears Soul’s voice behind him. She can’t figure what he’s saying, he’s speaking too quietly, but leaves without much protest, leaving her alone with the scientist. Professor Stein sits in a spinning chair, and rolls over to Maka’s bedside. 

“I know you just tried, but try to sit up again. I need to see if you can.” He orders. Maka bites her lip, but puts one hand on the handlebar- the other seemed to be tied to her side. She heaves herself up with the effort of lifting a forty kilogram dumbbell, pain radiating throughout her body. But, finally, after an eternity, she sits up. Stein nods briefly at her, before grabbing a few extra pillows, building them up for her to lean back on. Maka relaxes for a moment. “Good. You seem like you’re feeling better,” He writes something down, and turns away.

Maka doesn’t let him go. With the arm intertwined with the IV, she grabs his arm, despite her body’s protests. “Hold on.” She rasps, millions of knives stabbing through her throat. Stein pauses turning back to the meister. He says nothing.

“What happened after…?” Her voice sounds like a sixty-year-old smoker’s, but it’s what she can do right now. “How long was I out?” Stein leans forward on the back of the chair. He twists the screw in his head, gears turning figuratively and literally in his mind. He looks away for a moment, before reaching out for a paper cup, filling it with water. 

“If we’re going to have this conversation, you’re going to drink water first,” Stein says stubbornly. “You sound close to death.” He hands her the cup of water, which Maka readily accepts with her free hand. She gulps it down, and Stein looks unimpressed. She puts it back down, and keeps her eyes on Stein.

He sighs. “After the Kishin was defeated, correct?” Maka gives a brief nod in affirmation. “Nothing special happened, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Stein pulls a cigarette out of his lab coat. He doesn’t light it. “All the others had injuries, but they were released around a week ago. Aside from broken bones, they’re all pretty much healed.” He stops twirling the unlighted cigarette, pointing it at her. 

“You, on the other hand,” He keeps a low gaze on her. It makes Maka want to squirm under his gaze. He sticks the cigarette between his lips. He doesn’t finish his thought as he leans back. “You’ve had bouts of consciousness, but this is the first time you’ve been  _ awake  _ in,” He looks at the yearly calendar plastered on the wall, “Twelve days. Welcome back.” He says. 

Maka digests this information for a moment; then a jolt of pain shook the next question out of her. “What happened to  _ me, _ ” She heaves a deep breath, her ribs protesting against it, everything burning up her chest. 

Professor Stein has the audacity to laugh, though she could only imagine that’s just how he is. “That’s actually what we were hoping to ask you,” The doctor says. “Your injuries align with the others’, but more severe. What happened once Soul Eater fell?” A shade of an unasked question colors the question, but Maka’s wracking her mind for what happened.

“Soul…” Maka says, recalling. “He took a blast from Vajra for me, and he passed out.” She’s slowly piecing together all the little pieces that broke off from her memory. “I… said things to him, and-” She squints, then blinks. The color red paints the inside of her eyelids. “He used Vajra again. It struck me, and I don’t remember much after that,” She admits. Her gut stirs with something painful. “I remember Asura had me in a chokehold, and I remember-”  _ excruciating pain, _ she moves her hand to the phantom pain in her stomach, “I remember I punched him, and he fell to pieces.” Maka looks to her hand. 

She can see and hear the gears turning in Professor Stein’s head, but she can’t read what. Stein had always been one hard to read, changing from moment to moment. Suddenly, he nods, and puts the unlit cigarette back into its box. “I see.” He announces. Maka doesn’t know  _ what  _ he sees, she hasn't given any new information, but she doesn’t say anything.

“You’re a mess,” Stein takes his glasses off. “You seem to have taken several blows to the chest and upper body from Vajra. You also somehow managed to break three ribs and your clavicle,” He sighs, like he’s reading off a list, “You also got a concussion. Talk about the works,” Stein crosses his arms over the back of the chair. “That isn’t even all of it,” He groans. “You’d’ve worked better as a cadaver when you came in here.” 

Maka looks away abashedly. It wasn’t as if she  _ tried  _ to get hurt. Stein continues on. “You also got significant damage to your spleen, so I removed part of it, so be careful not to get sick.” He says like he’s talking about the weather. Maka chokes on her own spit. Her ribs ache.

“I-” She coughs, cut off by pain and the lack of air. She waits until everything dies down before she finishes. Stein has a morbid smirk on his face, and if Maka could move any easier, she would chop the hell out of him. “What?” She asks sorely.

Professor Stein looks bemused, to Maka’s disdain. “It looked like beef chuck by the time I got to it, you’re lucky I could save any of it.” He says slyly. “But, I’m me, and with some experimentation, I got it to work. Tell me if you experience any hallucinations.” And he’s just picking on her at this point. Maka glares, but Stein’s gaze doesn’t change.

“Aside from the bruises, there were several lacerations covering your shoulders and elbows.” Stein’s gaze falls then, and even without his glasses on, she can’t read his expression. “They appeared to be from a Weapon.” He says slowly. “A Scythe.”

Maka’s eyebrows furrow, and the headache pounding through her skull deepens. Maka certainly didn’t remember being injured by Soul, and Soul was in his human form for much of the battle; he wasn’t even conscious for much of the battle. But of course, in classic Stein fashion, he answers none of that.

“I’m sure Soul Eater wants to see you, and you appear to be doing fine.” He says, standing from the spinning chair. “Don’t let him wear you out too much. He’s been wearing holes into the floor in here since he got released.” Stein says. Maka tries to say something, but Stein’s across the floor in a flash, and the doors open before she can even move.

Stein blocks her view for a moment more, then he departs, leaving only her weapon partner. She- she doesn’t even have the words to explain how awful he looked. He looks like he hasn’t changed in days, his clothes rumpled. The bags under his eyes make him look more like a raccoon than human. It looks like he hasn’t slept well in weeks. Maka grits her teeth, guilt flooding over her body. He makes his way to her bedside and sits in the chair where Stein had just been. He sits stiffly, like he’s about to perform a recital.

“Hey,” Maka resists the urge to slide down and hide under the covers. She pauses. “You look terrible.” She tries to lighten the mood. 

Maka can tell by the point of his eyes he’s irritated, though. “I could say the same for you,” He says lowly, and pulls the chair to lean on the bed, hiding his head in his arms, around where her waist is. “You look like a mummy.” He looks at her from his crook.

Maka huffs, and flicks him with her hand. “Shut up.”

The air is stiff, and there’s something left unsaid. Maka shuts her eyes, and then opens them. Soul’s wholly looking at her at this point. She remembers the gaze in his eyes. She had it reflected into his eyes back in autumn, when the leaves fell and a scar was created. She has to say something. Her eyes soften. 

“This isn’t your fault.” She says quietly. “You offered all your strength, and you still protected me until you couldn’t anymore,”  _ And got hurt just as much as me, _ she thinks bitterly. She should’ve been stronger, maybe Soul wouldn’t have had to get hurt at all. If she could have offered more of herself, he wouldn’t be scarred and hurt because of her. 

“But it wasn’t enough,” Soul says through gritted teeth. “You’re there, and I’m here.” He says bitterly, burying his face into his arms once more. He’s drowning in his own misery. Maka can tell, because she’s been there.

Maka looks at him, then reaches her hand out to his head, lightly hitting it. Soul’s head pops off the bed, and his eyes are glassy. Maka offers him a smile. “We’ll both be stronger one day,” She says. “We’ll both work at it, and maybe one day, neither of us will have to get hurt.” She says, optimistically. Soul stays quiet for a moment.

Then he laughs. “Maka, you’re so stupid,” He laughs away his tears. He looks like that cheered him up, though. “How did I get the coolest partner ever?” He wonders aloud.

Maka smiles. “Because birds of a feather stick together,” She giggles. She finally lets her body relax back onto the pillows, sliding down the wall slowly to a lying position. Stitches pull at her stomach, but she can almost ignore the pain throughout her body. The laughter from Soul doesn’t die down.

“What does that even mean?” He chuckles, huffing air through his nose as he calms down. Maka blushes, looking away. She doesn’t explain.

“You look like you have two black eyes. Go sleep, or something.” Maka orders. “And you stink. Go get a shower.”

The amusement falls from his face, and he pouts. “You’re kicking me out,” He teases, “Choose, do you want to compliment me, or insult me.” Then the joke falls off his face like rain down a window sill. “...Are you sure you’ll be okay without me here?” He says protectively. Maka offers him a smile.

“I’ve been fine thus far, right? If you don’t go, I’ll get Stein to pull you out.” She doesn’t let the look of contentment fall from her face. “I’m fine, Soul. Go take care of yourself.” She says gently. 

Soul lingers for a moment, before standing. “I was planning on doing that anyway,” he puts his hands behind his head. “I’ve had enough of seeing you asleep for a lifetime.” He says. Maka smiles a half smile.

“Sure thing, Soul.” She says, as he approaches the door. “I’ll see you later Soul.” She says once he opens the door.

“Yeah.” He says, then mutters something unintelligibly. He leaves without another word. 

Maka lays all the way down, the stacked pillows falling next to her. She couldn’t really care less about what happened to them, as her body pulled her back into a rhythm feeling akin to the swell of ocean waves. Normally, it would be disconcerting, but the pain falls away, and she relaxes. She doesn’t move, but her eyes shut.

Before she knows it, she’s asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> [ Feel free to request me to fill more! ](https://asianlychallengedasian.tumblr.com/post/618598002563661824/here-is-your-card-for-bad-things-happen-bingo) I'm mostly doing Persona 5 and BNHA, but I just saw this and didn't have anything for it, so :) Hope you liked it!


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